The whole key is water retention. Get the rainwater harvesting
books, especially vol 2.
Read up on swales here, and do some homework on "lithic mulches" or rock mulching. Also would
be nice to get some lichen growing on em for fertilizing the stuff below.
The real key seems to be burying
wood where the swales can trap the moisture to let it settle down to it. This will allow the
roots to get down deep
enough to survive the baking sun.
Plan for orchards and tall brush. Once they start dropping leaf litter, you will have something to work with for more veggies.
get a laser line generator, and head out back, and see which directions your
land drops.
Native Seed Search is the place to start for veggies, you already see a pretty good list for the trees above.
http://70.47.99.86/contactus.asp
You will never be able to get max production, unless you get some shade and windblocks in.
Start in the lowest and furthest south corner, with mid height stuff,like apricots, and make your mistakes there.
As you move north, you will need to start planning shade, sun angles (mark out the max sun angles at solstices), and cart paths.
Plan everything on how the water will flow, and build your paths, and
garden bed layouts to fit that ideal. Think lazy too, you want it to be easy to get to stuff.
Don't plan on leaving any raised beds for long term, but you can put in some wicking beds to get some instant gratification.
Raised beds use extra water, and can't pick up any rain either. Wood in contact with the ground brings roaches almost every time. Avoid railroad ties.
This is supposed to be fun !
If you want max impact and output, you really need to hire a pro. Will take time, even with good help from these here folks, to set this up.
take a look
